Category: Business

The CBD oil industry has been booming over the past few years with these products becoming legal in more countries.  If you are thinking of getting into this industry, you need to know everything you can before you start. One of the most important aspects of your business to focus on will be the payment solution.  There are a number of issues that you will face with payment solutions for CBD oil products, but there are also some innovative solutions that you can use.

The Payment Solution Problems

Before you can look at the innovative payment solutions that you can use for a CBD oil product business, you need to know the hurdles that you face.  A business that sells CBD oil products will not be able to use the traditional payment gateways offered to other retail businesses. This is due to the fact that CBD oil is still illegal in certain states and the state and federal legislation do not match in some areas.  

This has led to a limitation in terms of payment solution for people in the CBD oil industry.  Banks will not allow you to open a merchant account with them if you have this type of business because it is still technically illegal on a federal level.  Other traditional online payment gateways are also wary of CBD oil businesses because of the regulatory uncertainty.

Traditional merchant account providers will also generally reject applications from CBD oil businesses.  This is why you need to look at other solutions for your payment system. There are 2 systems that you should consider if you are going to be selling online and they are high-risk merchant accounts and cryptocurrency payments.

Using A High-Risk Merchant Account

Most CBD oil businesses will actually use a high-risk merchant account for their payments.  These accounts work in a similar manner to the traditional merchant account, but the fees and oversight will be greater.  If you are going to consider a high-risk merchant account, you need to know what you should be looking for in a provider.

Ideally, you will want to work with a merchant account provider that has a good history of working with CBD oil businesses.  These providers will understand the challenges that this industry faces and will have accounts that are focused on helping your business.  They will also be easier to open an account with because they understand the industry that you work in.

You also need to look at the fees that the merchant account provider is charging.  All merchant account providers will work in a different manner and will charge their fees using a different structure.  Ideally, you will want to clearly see what your fees are going to be and if there are any additional fees such as minimum transaction fees that you need to worry about.  These fees will be charged if your business does not put through a set number of transactions within in a single month.

You should also find out which cards the merchant account from The Southern Institute, will accept transactions from.  There are some high-risk merchant accounts that only complete transactions from Visa cards while others will take Visa and MasterCard.  The more cards you can take, the better for your business.

While a high-risk merchant account is a good payment solution for any CBD oil business, it is not a great innovation.  These accounts have been around for years and have been used by a number of different industries. However, they do offer you an easy way to accept card payments for your CBD oil products.

Using Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency and CBD oil products will be a match made in heaven because there are no regulations regarding what you can buy with this currency.  This does not mean that there are no problems with this payment solution and you need to be aware of this. However, it is an innovative way of receiving payments and will help your business gain more custom.  

The primary benefit of using cryptocurrency in your business will be the fact that you avoid the fees of the merchant accounts.  This can save your business a lot of money as the fees can pile up rather quickly. You also never have to worry that your merchant account will be closed for some reason which will place you on a blacklist for future accounts.  

One of the other benefits of using cryptocurrency is the fact that it can be used in-store as well as online.  There are a number of Fintech companies that have created devices which help customers and businesses handle Bitcoin transactions.  By using the technology created by these companies, you will be able to sell your products in-store and accept cryptocurrency payments without any problems.  

The first issue that you will face with cryptocurrency payments is the fact that your customers need to have this currency to start with.  Not all of your customers will have a Bitcoin wallet or any Bitcoin on hand. This could result in your potential customer looking at your competition because it is easier for them to buy.  If they want to buy from your store, they will need to purchase Bitcoin first and then buy the product from you.

Another issue that you will find with cryptocurrency is the volatility of the currency.  In a single day, the value of Bitcoin could fluctuate greatly which means that the payment you get in the morning might not cover the goods at the close of the day.  This means that you could make a loss depending on the value of the currency and you have no way of accurately predicting which way the market will move.

Payment solutions for CBD oil businesses are limited due to the legal murkiness of these products.  While CBD oil products are legal in a number of states, they are illegal in others and the federal laws have not caught up to the state ones.  This leaves CBD oil businesses with few options other than high-risk merchant accounts, cash payments and the use of cryptocurrency.

The endpoint security definition states that it’s a form of security system that mainly focuses on protecting the various endpoints of an enterprise in a network system accessed via multiple wireless devices and laptops. In a network endpoint, an entry point that is prone to security threats is developed by each device that connects to the network remotely. This ensures that if a threat or an attack occurs, it can be easy for the network endpoint system to identify the threat and design ways of neutralizing it accordingly. Therefore, endpoint security is purely intended to secure every endpoint created by the connected devices on the network.

In any active business, it is of the essence for the concerned entities to ensure that their networked system is well protected. The notion behind this argument is based on the fact that failure to provide a secure connection would be a recipe for cyber-attacks and information leakage, acts that can lead to the collapse of a business. This is why most companies in Manhattan of all sorts and sizes have already chosen to outsource IT support.

Now, the importance of an endpoint security system is the fact that it authenticates logins from the endpoint hence preventing unauthorized access. Apart from this, an endpoint security system updates the installed software, thus blocking out malicious threats that may attack the system as a result of outdated software.

Classification of Endpoint Security

Endpoint security systems are classified into two different types namely;

• Consumer
• Enterprise

The difference between the two is the fact that the enterprise systems have a centralized management while the consumer system has no centralized management. The centralized management system plays a crucial role by streamlining the installation and configuration of the endpoint security software.

As much as an endpoint security system is meant to protect your company from malicious attacks, it can still be prone to attacks if the right measures such as software updates or using the best systems are not taken into consideration. Apart from this, other methods that can ensure a robust system that effectively protects your business are as follows.

Encrypting Data

Data encryption and backup ensures that sensitive customer and company details are well protected just in case a breach occurs. Failure to encrypt your company’s data will increase the chances of attacks and identity theft.

Employ a Robust Cybersecurity Technology

Though an endpoint security system can be sufficient for your business, adding another layer of security is recommended. As a company expands, its enterprise data expands as well. This data may be at risk if the right measures are not taken to protect the data. Therefore, an integrated enterprise antivirus technology that delivers state-of-the-art technology to your company should be employed. You can achieve this by conducting a detailed research or seeking advice from a reputable company.

Employing a Mobile Device Management System

The main reason as to why an endpoint security system is important is to manage multiple devices. As a way of ensuring a robust endpoint security system, a company should have a Mobile Device Management system. This system functions by facilitating the management of third-party apps, validating devices, penetration testing, and most importantly, protecting mobile devices from malicious attacks.

Employing Appropriate Software

If you have a company that employs a large number of people, it should be of the essence to consider the demands and requirements of your workers. For instance, you should install a software that can comfortably accommodate multiple users at a go with no lags whatsoever. On the other hand, if your company only has a small number of people, then it can be wise to use a software that has the necessary security systems rather than a complex one.

Americans are in debt and the numbers are rising. While the cost of living is rising everywhere, wages are stagnant. It feels like debt is inevitable. The question is no longer “is debt a reality?” Rather, “what alternatives are there to debt?” One solution offered by a player in the financial industry is FluxCredit.

FluxCredit is introducing #FluxLife to empower you to live your best possible life by reinventing your financial future. Aligning with influencers and athletes to help empower others, #FluxLife provides a unique method that gives people the ability to achieve financial freedom successfully.

It’s a “fresh start” solution designed to help people; it’s an alternative to bankruptcy yet still all-inclusive in scope.

“We all live an active lifestyle and we’re excited to team up with athletes in the NFL and many other sporting organizations that live the Flux lifestyle”, says Travis Siflinger, Brand Technology Officer for FluxCredit.

Travis Siflinger ensures that FluxCredit’s technologies, infrastructure, and financial products are strategically designed, developed, secured, and marketed. Before creating and co-founding FluxCredit with Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Jacobus, Travis led intellectual property development as well as listening projects with Mondrian of SBE, William Morris Endeavor of WME, Monster Energy, and other leading corporations with a successful product launch for ProMax Nutrition which was followed by an $18M acquisition by Kashi Foods.

The idea for FluxCredit was originated when Siflinger was dealing with a lot of personal debt after a business investment failed. At the time, he was a debt collector at a top agency in America, settling over $50M in debts. “He’s the real financial guru behind the business”, says Siflinger. They came together to build a brand that works in the best interest of their clients.

Where is the debt industry going? “Up, that’s for sure”, says Siflinger, “but FlexCredit is here to clean it up immediately and put the clients in a position to live their best life. Look at it this way. The economy dealt many of our people bad cards and it was hard to find jobs, pay off mortgages, and live the American dream. 60% of Americans are in debt and as things improve, it’s more important than ever to get back in the game and the first step is to have strong credit to flex your buying power”.

There aren’t many options when facing debt burdens. People can’t just “do nothing” while paying excessive interest in an attempt to maintain good credit. They usually take out another loan, usually high interest, to pay off other debts. Instead of solving the problem, it shifts the problem from one creditor to another with bankruptcy to follow. It’s complicated and stays on a credit report for years to come.

FluxCredit is a solution. It’s considered the first choice for many Americans who want to live life on their own terms.

As the financial industry continuously transforms in light of new technology, FluxCredit is destined to revolutionize how Americans deal with inevitable debt.

Starting a business takes quite a bit of work as well as a decent amount of stress is associated with doing so. The founder of a business is going to have to handle quite a few things that might not exactly be in their wheelhouse of skills. This could include balancing the bank accounts without prior training although this has become much easier with programs like that of QuickBooks. There are going to be areas that need quite a bit of attention in order to be handled correctly. The following are areas that need to be handled when starting a business.

Finances or Funding

TheMoneyAlert.com advises that a small new company should try to minimize expenses if it does not impact their quality of work negatively. Getting funding together is going to take quite the pitch as investors want to see a business model as well as its potential for success. The best thing that can be done is to minimize costs without skimping like getting refurbished phones for the staff instead of the newest iPhone. Set a budget instead of spending money as needed as this can lead to overspending without you even realizing it.

Hiring

The process of hiring can be tough as everyone seems to make sure their resume looks like they were the saving grace at their last job. For this reason it is important to have interviews with multiple steps as it can be easy to fake one interview but multiple interviews with practical tests can be much more difficult. One issue that many companies face is that of hiring people who are not great fits with the culture. A small company with a relaxed culture that also works hard might be better off not hiring a manager that constantly is looking over each of their employees shoulder constantly.

Acquiring Clients

Finding clients in a young business is important as constantly adding to a customer base can help alleviate the impact when a large client leaves. With a new business it is important to reach out to former professional contacts to see if there is a chance to work with them again. In the cases of signing a non-compete with your former employer, keep these people in mind and reach out to the ones that have found a role at a new company. People are usually willing to work with those that they know will deliver quality work rather than taking a gamble on a new company or person.

Customer Service

Retention of clients is imperative if a company is going to grow so the customer service department needs to be top of the line. The ability to save a client after a person in sales promised far too much or the production department did not deliver on time is invaluable. The cost of having to find new clients can be astronomical depending on the business so keep the current clients will help keep cash flow health.

As you can see there are plenty of things to manage when running your own business. Starting a business is something to be proud of but this in no way guarantees that it will be a success.

Online trading is a complicated task for many people. For instance, you have to check market signals for possible changes so that you can adjust your trading strategy accordingly. Reading numerous tutorials and updates to those tutorials is also necessary as is analyzing various indicators. Frustration with these repetitive activities may consume you. That is especially true if you have other things to do. Fortunately, a computerized trading tool works for you as you handle other matters. Here are 5 tips to choosing an automated trading tool for investments.

1. Easy To Use Interface

Sophisticated tools are counterproductive because they do not ease your burden when it comes to trading online. Therefore, the first thing you ought to do when selecting an automated trading tool is to check its interface. Is it concise? In other words, does it have a summary of market conditions at a particular point in time? Is it responsive? For example, does it load your portfolio after a short or long time? Avoid automated trading tools that have complicated or problematic interfaces.

2. Trusted By Fellow Traders

You are one trader among a sea of traders. Have you talked to your counterparts about the trading tool that you are considering? Have you checked online reviews to see people’s experience with it? Do you know any reputable traders who wrote about it? Remember, a useful trading tool gains a positive image online as more and more people discover it. Saving a lot of money is possible if you learn from their experiences. Doing so would help you avoid fraudulent schemes as well.

3. Supports Many Coins

Established companies offer you multiple products and services. Similarly, reliable trading platforms support several coins on their platform. They include well-known virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum in addition to emerging ones. Pairing these coins should be possible as well. Choosing your preferred exchange from a set of possible Exchanges is also another sign of a reliable trading tool. For example, Gunbot possesses all of these characteristics and more.   

4. Customizable Trading Options

Taking advantage of the market in real time is an advantage that you have over other traders. Unfortunately, things change as time goes. Consequently, adjusting your automatic trading tool to reflect these changes is necessary as well. Interestingly, doing so is impossible if the computerized trading platform lacks customizable trading options. For example, can you choose your preferred trading method? How many choices do you have? Gunbot has five strategies, and you can combine them in certain ways.

5. Adequate Security Measures

Hackers target online traders endlessly, and trading tools are one of their favorite targets. That means you can lose your hard-earned money to hackers if you invest it in an insecure trading tool. Avoid this scenario by going for the ones that have an adequate level of security. For example, does it operate on multiple servers? Doing so increases your susceptibility to hacking. Go for a tool that runs on your server or local computer only. This tool maintains the secrecy of your trading API.

Small businesses often undertake in mergers and acquisitions for similar reasons as large corporations do – to strengthen their position in one or multiple markets, have access to new markets, boost operation efficiency or merely diversify their offerings. A merger is one common business exit strategy in addition to being a critical growth tool. But what comes into your mind when the terms mergers and acquisitions are mentioned? Just as there exist numerous business structures to take into account when planning to launch a new business, there are multiple merger structures based mainly on differences in economic function, the purpose of the business transaction, and the relationship between the companies involved.

The structure and scale of your business in addition to the services and products you produce as well as several other factors imply that not all merger and acquisition types are ideal for your company. All the same, it is still essential to understand the various types of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the modern-day business world and their impact on the merging firms and competitors at large. Here are the most common mergers.

Conglomerate Merger

For a long time, the term “conglomerate’ has been misused to refer to a large business or company. However, a conglomerate is precisely the coming together of companies that undertake unrelated business activities or in entirely separate geographical locations. A conglomerate merger can be further grouped into pure and mixed conglomerates.

A pure conglomerate usually involves two firms which have nothing in common. On the other hand, a mixed conglomerate occurs between companies that, although they engage in unrelated business activities, are making strides towards gaining market or product extensions through this merger. When firms come together in this type of business merger, both markets will continue to battle similar competitors as the encountered before the merger.

There are several accepted benefits of conglomerate mergers, and they include, a reduction in investment risk because of diversification as well as better economies of scale. On the flip side, some demerits of this kind of merger are that accounting activities become complex and this makes it easier for the managers to hide some company information and more difficult for auditors and analysts to unearth the issues. Another considerable risk associated with this type of merger is the instant shift in business operations as a result of the merger since the two organizations offer unrelated services or products or operate in entirely different markets.

Horizontal Merger

Contrary to a conglomerate merger, a horizontal merger usually takes place between companies that are in the same industry. The companies or organization performing the merger are often competitors or parties offering similar services or products. And as anyone would guess, horizontal business mergers are common in the industries where there are fewer overall companies because competition is usually sharper and the potential for gaining a larger share of the market is much greater.

Horizontal mergers offer significant economies of scale meaning that the average costs will decline because the new company will now do a greater volume of business. This type of merger also increases the market share since customers who were loyal to both companies will now come together to one company. Better yet, this kind of merger offers the opportunity for cost saving because it eliminates redundancies in this sense; where the two original firms each required their own procurement department, advertising budget, and benefits program, the merged company will only need one.

Vertical Merger

A vertical merger refers to the coming together of two companies which are involved in the production of similar services or products but are both at different production stages. This type of merger often occurs when organizations operating in different niches within an industry’s chain combine their operations.

One common advantage of this kind of merger is that it increases efficiency and synergy. On the flip side, this kind of merger could raise concerns regarding anti-competitiveness. For instance, if an organization was to buy one of the supply companies supplying parts to itself and its competitors, it could minimize its costs tremendously compared to the costs of the competitors. The underlying rationale behind this type of merger is better flow of information through the supply chain and higher quality control.

Market Extension Merger

This type of merger usually occurs between two organizations which deal with the same products but operating in separate markets. This merger aims to gain better access to a broader market and consequently a larger client base. While such a merger could be beneficial to a business, it is crucial that the appropriate business partner is identified if you are looking to take part in a market extension merger. When a larger national company merges with a local company, there could be a clash in business cultures, and this could have a negative impact of the new company’s success. Besides, whatever made one of the companies successful in the first instance could end up being diluted after the formation of a single organization.

Product Extension Merger

Although quite similar to a market extension merger, the two have a clear-cut difference. In this case, the merger takes place between business organizations dealing in related products in the same market. One of the most referred to example of this type of merger is when Broadcom acquired Mobilink Telecom Inc. The former deals with the manufacture of Bluetooth personal area network chips and systems for wireless LAN while the latter creates product designs that are meant for use in handsets which are equipped with Mobil Communications technology. In this case, both products complement each other.

By undertaking this merger, the newly merged company is now able to group their products together and have access to a larger customer base. It is crucial to note that in this case, the services and products of the two companies are dissimilar although they are related. The key, in this case, is to make use of similar distribution channels, related or common supply chains or production processions.

The workplace is an integral part of our lives as it is an area where we spend the better part of our day at. The office space, therefore, needs to be an environment where we can be comfortable and can work with ease. This article thus expounds on a couple of ways to achieve this, by enhancing your office space.

1.    Have proper lighting
A great office space to work at efficiently requires sufficient lighting. Whether you are using artificial light or natural light, a well-lit room goes a long way in improving productivity. It also creates an open, airy space especially when you are using natural light. This has been proven to boost moods and consequently motivate the employees to work better and more effectively. It also creates an illusion of a bigger space which is a great way to enhance the look of the room. If you are using artificial light, however, remember to not make the lighting too dull or too bright, as this may affect some of the employees with eye conditions.

2.    Have a lounge

In order for staff to work efficiently, they require little breaks every now and then where they can get up and stretch for a while. Having a lounge area where the staff can relax during these breaks can be really beneficial. It also really helps to improve the overall look of the office space. Invest in a couple of armchairs and tables, where the staff can go and hang out for a while and have some coffee on their break or make a phone call.

3.    Invest in decorative pieces

Focusing on the interior décor of an office can really help in enhancing your workspace. A dull, boring, plain look can demotivate your employees and make the entire place look dreary and work tiresome. Therefore, add a dash of creativity and life by doing a bit of decoration. You can incorporate some sculptures, paintings, or even potted plants which really help make a place look lively. To add a pop of colour, focus on your paint choices as colours actually do communicate a certain vibe and help to invoke certain emotions amongst the staff. For instance, a dark blue communicates a more corporate vibe, while yellow helps to inspire creativity.  Choose your colours, therefore, based on the nature of work in your office space.

4.    Avoid clutter

Clutter really changes the appearance of an office space as it causes the place to appear smaller and crowded than it actually is.  It also makes it really hard to get any work done effectively as cluttered desks and spaces can make it hard for an individual to find, for instance, a particular contract that they need to work on or read through. It also makes it easy for things to get misplaced, which can lead to minor losses of items such as stationery or huge losses, for instance, leakages of confidential data. Invest, therefore, in furniture that can aid in storage and clear clutter, for example, filing cabinets. These are quite easy to handle and they also do not use up a lot of office space.

Above anything else, even the principal investment capital, the most valuable asset that all companies have is human labor. Any team can be given the greatest coaches in the world, but only good team players can make teamwork work. Unfortunately, that is the thing with employees and investors: they must be willing to pursue their company’s agenda for there to be any real progress. Everyone must play their parts, and even help out teammates to get theirs done faster. Bad employs are toxic, and they can corrupt your systems and cripple your operations. They attract failure, and they are good at diverting all of their rightful blame onto other people. As the narcissists that they always are, they are most often very convincing and conniving. That is why you should avoid bad hires, and avoid bad associations even more. You should always find only the best experts to help you out with issues as tasking, detail-oriented and comprehensive as:

• background Investigations.

These services are most recommendable for recruiters, human resource agencies and employers. Although most employers conduct the textbook due diligence procedure than dominates the formal world, a good number of them are now realizing the importance of conducting background investigations to fully understand what kind of people they stand to hire. This gradual shift of opinion was probably caused by the long years of stunning deceit, betrayal, shame, embarrassment and massive losses that corporates, persons and public agencies go through because of toxic employees.

Bad hires need to be prevented through social media background checks and screening through certain international and local databases. Our artificial intelligence will automatically raise plenty of red flags if your social media profiles exhibit racism, bigotry, criminal activity and character traits that are against your company’s culture. However, we have more valuable character-assessing and discernment assets than just that world-class and futuristic artificial intelligence technology.

• Business Intelligence.

You should never just conduct business with anybody. You should never run into mergers, corporate outsourcing and affiliate programs without thoroughly reviewing the character and reputation of everyone involved. When you are faced with seemingly viable partnerships, investigate the subtle nuances of the partner’s internal structure, investors, officers and previous dealings.

You should consult the services of Corporate Resolutions Inc. They are proud to provide a very wide of rich and wealthy clients looking to make major investments and weary enough to inspect their plowing grounds. In fact, they always promise to maintain the highest standards of investigations regardless of whether they are looking into your possible future management team and its member’s previous activities, the portfolio of a potential company, a fund manager or a new business partner.

• Internal Investigations.

It’s within a company’s best interest to have a corporate culture that mandates, requires and facilitates the funding of internal investigation among its ranks to protect it from malicious and criminal intentions. These kinds of investigations help you in identifying the trustworthy people within your ranks. Embrace a very capable investigation team that includes financial analysts, former FBI and CIA field operatives and analysts, data forensics experts and behavioral psychologists.

• Ethics Hotline.

You can often find yourself trapped or heading into a trap that could devastate your legal agenda, status or financial position. As a big time investor, however, you stand to lose more by falling into such traps because your discretion, reputation and judgment are always on the line. Therefore, before you see a female employee on CNN retelling stories of rampant sexual harassment in your enterprise, you should see it and mitigate such disasters. The real-time ethics hotline service from Corporate Resolutions Inc. helps your entire company staff and investors to report anonymously about any suspicious activity that stands to hurt their employer’s bottom-line and, ultimately, their employment. These ethics hotlines are available through email, phone calls and live web support.